MENA 160A1 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Current Lecture I. Defining what Islam is and Being able to identify different MuslimsII. World view of the Islamic worldA. Major divisions B. Population of MuslimsIII. Representation of Islam in the Western popular cultureIV. Various categories of representationA. Islam-violence, suppression of women, and tyrannical rulersB. The geographic representationCurrent LectureA few Arabic terms to know:- Islam=religion of Muslims- Muslim=a person who practices Islam- Aslama=becoming a MuslimMajor Divisions of Islam:- Sunnīs (85%-90%)- Shi’a/Shī’ītes (9.5-14.5%)a. Imami/Twelverb. Isma’ilic. Zaydid. [Druze and Alawites]e. Kharijitesf. Ahmadis80% of Muslims classify themselves as Sunnīs, while 18% classify themselves as Shī’ītes.Shī’ītes and Sunnīs are divided by two things:a. Their believe in leadershipb. Their authority within the umma (Muslim community)The Shī’ītes support the leadership of Muhammad’s cousin, Alī, and his descendants. The Sunnīs however adopted a pragmatic political stance. This means that they believe in a caliphate theory, which meant:a. Leader must be a male Muslimb. A member of the prophet’s tribe of the Qurayshc. Meet specific qualifications for fitnessThe Sunnīs gained their authority from the texts, the Qur’an and the Sunna, whereas theShī’ītes focused on the family of the prophet and its descendantsThe two groups share more similarities than differences that divides them, but it was notuntil the coming out of the Safāvid empire in the 16th century that Iran and southern Iraqofficially became Shī’ītes.The eight countries where more than 50% of Muslims reside in:Country Number of Muslims Muslim percentage of total populationPercentage of world Muslim populationEgypt 78,513,000 94.6% 5.0%Turkey 73,619,000 98% 4.7%Saudi Arabia 24,949,000 97% 2.0%Pakistan 174,082,000 96.3% 11.1%Nigeria 78,056,000 50% 5.0%Iran 73,777,000 99.4% 4.7%Indonesia 202,867,000 88.2% 12.9%India 160,945,000 13.4% 10.3%A majority of Muslims do not live in a community where many other Muslims reside in, but instead live in areas where they mostly live, work, and worship among non-Muslim peopleThe Muslim community-the umma-cross the globe and face many challenges of globalization; many countries that Muslim live in, are seen as a minority and thus are notable to live a life the way they want because of community norms.Top two regions where Muslims reside in:Many critical issues facing contemporary Muslims arise accurately because so many influential Muslims are German, French, British, Canadian, Dutch or Australian.Names of important Muslim Leaders:- Ruhollah Khomeini (d. 1989)- Iranian Shiite political and spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution- King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia- Yusuf al-Qaradawi- Egyptian Scholar- Osama bin Laden- Founder of controversial organization al-Qaeda- Hasan al-Banna (14 October 1906 – 12 February 1949)- best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood- Abul Ala Maududi (d. 1979)- the founder of al-Jamaat-e Islami (Islamic Party)Region Number of Muslims Muslim percentage oftotal populationPercentage of world Muslim populationAsia Pacific 972,537,000 24.1% 61.9%North Africa 315,322,000 91.2 201.1%- Shirin Ebadi (Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, 2003)- Tawakul Karman (Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize winner, 2011)- Mohammed Arkoun (d. 2010)- French-Algerian scholar and thinker- King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia- Ali Khamenei - is the current Supreme Leader of Iran and was the president of Iran from 1981 to 1989.- Abdullah Gül- is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey- Sheikh Hasina- Prime Minister of Bangladesh since 2009; previously she was Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001- Mohamed Morsi- is the current president of Egypt- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono- is a retired general and the president of IndonesiaStereotypes- General and inaccurate beliefs that some people hold about others.- Generalization is a means of simplification through the use of categories.- All Muslims are Arabs- Islam oppresses Women- Middle East is sandy, lots of Camels, rich oil sheikhs, terrorists.- Muslims are extremists and fanatics- Islam is violent- Muslims cannot adapt to modernity - American/European portrayal of the Middle East changed over time: Arabian nights and medieval Baghdad in movies and songs of the 1920s to images of terrorism and oil sheikhs today.- If a majority of Muslims are Indonesian, Nigerian, Indian or Bengali, why do we usually associate Arabs and Arab culture when we think to Islam?- This is how stereotypes begin because Islam originally began in Arabia, the book-the Qur’an is written in Arabic and because Islamic religious ideas and cultural norms are started in Arabic culture, we immediately associate Arabs with the Islam faithPopular Islamic expressions:- as-salam ‘alaykum: Peace be upon you.a. wa ‘alaykum al-salam: And peace be upon you.- al-hamdu lillah: All praise belongs to God.- bismillah: In the name of God.- in sha’allah: If God wills…- ma sha’allah: What God wills [happens].- Allahu akbar: God is Greatest.The Shī’ītes and Sunnī have a minor difference in spiritual practicesThe Mosque is simply a place of worshipFor Muslims, when they receive a newborn infant, the father whispers the call to prayer in the child’s ear and the words of Adhān are the first words heard to the